Bad Smells In The Workplace

How many times has this happened to you….you are sitting at your desk going about your work. You look up and you notice ‘Harry’ about to walk past you. You know what you are about to cop so you take a deep breath. He says something to you and you have to respond. All you can do is mumble something as you exhale and then your worst fears are realised. He sits down in the chair in front of your desks and starts talking to you. I don’t know about you but I can only hold my breath for a minute or so before I pass out. Let’s face it, we all work with someone who stinks….from bad body odour that is. It’s funny in one way but not in another. Apparently there are many causes for bad body odour but I’m not a doctor so I won’t even go into that. We’re only interested in the effect of whatever the condition might be and that’s B.O.

The sad part about it is that people who have this condition usually don’t even know that they smell. I have had to deal with this situation a few times over the years and it’s never a comfortable issue to raise with someone. But as a manager, unfortunately you have to. Bad B.O. has a negative effect on people around the office. If you have someone like this in your office, what’s the best way to handle it?

Firstly, talk to your HR department if you have one. You have to be careful how you approach such a situation as your approach could be taken as harassment. The following is what I was advised to do by our HR people at the time:

1. always talk to the person in private. I usually took them out to a quiet coffee shop and talked to them there away from big ears at the office.

2. tell them that their work is appreciated and that they are a valuable member to the team (hopefully that’s true)

3. admit that this is not an easy subject to talk about

4. be specific in what you are trying to tell them eg. “Harry, many people around the office have commented that you have very offensive body odour.”

5. never try to diagnose the problem. You have already embarrassed them enough at this point

6. talk about a simple solution such as using deodorant a few times a day instead of just after their morning shower (assuming they have one)

7. never do what I did as a young manager before all the ridiculous harassment laws were tightened. I took a sales guy who was much older than me to the supermarket, went to personal hygiene section and asked him if he had ever seen a deodorant spray before and if he knows how to use one. He got the message but he was very embarrassed and offended and left soon after. I won’t tell you what happened to me when upper management heard of what I did.

No one wants to be around a person that smells at the office. This can lead to a person feeling isolated and depressed which then leads to other issues, low morality and worse still, gossip. Part of your role as a manager sometimes involves dealing with uncomfortable issues which unfortunately never becomes easier. However, if you know what to say in those situations, the task won’t seem so daunting.